Fired Up: How to Stay Motivated – Part 1

Motivation—understanding why we do what we do—is a topic of great interest. Most of us want to understand why we, sometimes, act against our own best interest, while we lack the inner fortitude to take actions that would benefit us.

We recognize that accumulating knowledge (i.e. knowing what to do), though important, isn’t enough. Often, we know what the right thing to do, yet we’re not doing it. Having know-how doesn’t mean you executing on it.

If you are to achieve the results you want in life, you’ll need a good dose of motivation. To engage in the journey towards your goal, you must not only get motivated but also stay motivated until you reach your destination; you face many discouraging situations and abandoning ship sometimes seems the most appealing option.

During the next few days, I want to touch on motivation. My goal isn’t to pontificate on the topic of motivation but to fire you up to take action on your goals and dreams. In this series, I’ll seek to provide you with strategies to help you keep the fire of motivation burning in your heart.

As humans, we are driven by motives. We do things for a reason. Sometimes, the reason is explicit, sometimes it’s not (but that doesn’t mean it’s not there); sometimes we’re aware of the reason, sometimes we’re not.

We are motivational being. Motivation moves us.

If you think about all you do in the course of your day, and you ask yourself, “Why do I do that?”, you’ll find that most of the time, you know exactly why you’re doing something.

Let’s try this: Why do you go to work? Perhaps you go to work for the money; perhaps because you love the work; maybe you enjoy the work environment; perhaps you want to buy a new car; maybe you go to work for multiple reasons. etc. ; there are so many reasons act a certain way.

Let’s take another: Why do you exercise? Perhaps you exercise to reap the health benefits; maybe you aim to become the next Mr. Universe; perhaps you’re preparing for your next football season; maybe you desire to fit in your wedding dress next summer; maybe you plan to show off at the beach; etc. There are so many reasons that can explain why you exercise.

Think about all you do and you’ll realize you have a reason for doing it. This shows the power of motivation: Motivation is the driving force that pushes you to action. And in this series, you’ll learn how to harness this force and use it to your advantage.